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Landon Donovan
- 2000 U.S. Olympian, finished in the quarterfinals (first time in U.S. men’s soccer history)
- Member of 2002 World Cup team, scoring two goals
- FIFA 2002 World Cup All-Star team
- 2004 - Became the first player to win U.S. Soccer male Athlete of the Year and Youth Male Athlete of the Year award (2000)
- 1999 Pan American bronze medalist
- One of just four players in U.S. history to score four goals in one game; one of six players that has scored a goal in their first appearance with the U.S. National team since 1985
- Played for the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer for four years before returning to Germany to finish his contract with club Bayer Leverkusen in Jan. 2005 but returned to Los Angeles Galaxy in March 2005
- Youngest member of 2000 U.S. Olympic Soccer Team
- Signed a deal with German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen in Feb. 1999, becoming one of the youngest players (age 16) in U.S. Soccer history to sign a professional contract overseas
- Decided he wanted to bring home the Olympic gold medal and play professionally so he begged his mom to sign him up for a team at age 6 – scored seven goals in his first game
- Featured on the June 24, 2002 cover of Sports Illustrated, won the 2002 ESPY award for Best Male Soccer Player
- His father, Tim, played semi-pro hockey
- Has a twin sister named Tristan, who he is extremely close with, and a brother, Josh, who is a member of the U.S. Army
- Is a sports video games and board game enthusiast (plays Trivial Pursuit, Balderdash and Scattergories) -"I'm pretty good at (board games). It's my way of making up for not going to college."
- Favorite cities are Buenos Aires, Argentina and Salt Lake City, Utah; enjoys watching NFL games
- Earned Pele's praise for his play at the 2002 World Cup - "Donovan has played very well,'' Pele said.
- Made national TV appearances on Good Morning America, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Late Show with David Letterman after the 2002 World Cup
Donovan is considered to be the next big influence in the U.S. and critics claim he has the skills to do so. "He's a great player already,” said Earnie Stewart, U.S. national team veteran. “He has speed; he's great on the ball; he can dribble opponents. Because he's a young kid, he likes to take on people all of the time. It creates a two-against-one situation somewhere else. That's one of Landon's qualities."
Related Links
Landon Donovan photos ... 06.09.06
His advice to young players: "Anything with the ball is the best thing you can do, everything else will come to you later, just be with the ball as much as possible," Donovan said on his U.S. National Soccer Players biography.
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Height: 5' 8
Born: 3/4/1982
Hometown: Redlands, Calif.
Resides: San Jose, Calif.
Sport: Soccer
Event: Midfielder/Forward
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